The Yokohama Grits ( ja, 横浜グリッツ, Yokohama gurittsu) are a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team based in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, Japan. They are a members of

Asia League Ice Hockey Asia League Ice Hockey ( ja, アジアリーグアイスホッケー; ko, 아시아리그 아이스하키) or ALIH (AL) is an association which operates a professional ice hockey league based in East Asia, with teams from Japan, South Korea, and ...

and play their home games at the

KOSÉ Shin-Yokohama Skate Center The Kosé Shin Yokohama Skate Center (KOSÉ新横浜スケートセンター) is an indoor sporting arena located in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The arena opened in 1990. It has a total capacity of 2,500 people (1,406 seated and 1,094 standing). ...

History

The Yokohama Grits were founded on 2 May 2019 by Grits Sports Innovators Corporation, an organisation led by Akihito Usui. The Grits are the first ice hockey team based in the

Greater Tokyo Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the ...

since the

Seibu Prince Rabbits The were an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Nishitōkyō City in Tokyo, Japan that was folded in 2009. The Rabbits played at the DyDo Drinco Ice Arena from 2006-2009. In December 2008, Prince Hotels, the team's owner, announced that the ...

folded in 2009. On 2 June 2020 the team was announced as the eighth member of

, with former

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

player Mike Kennedy serving as the head coach. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Asia The COVID-19 pandemic began in Asia in Wuhan, Hubei, China, and has spread widely through the continent. As of , at least one case of COVID-19 had been reported in every country in Asia except Turkmenistan. The Asian countries with the highe ...

, the league cancelled its planned 2020–21 season, and a three-country Asia League tournament was scheduled instead. In October of the same year, the Grits took part in the Asia League Japan Cup.

References

External links

Yokohama Grits
Asia League Ice Hockey teams Ice hockey clubs established in 2019 Ice hockey teams in Japan Sports teams in Yokohama 2019 establishments in Japan {{Icehockey-team-stub